The present invention relates to a holder for decorative electrical lights that can be used in conjunction with stakes fixed to the ground, or supports fixed to a wall or vertical surface such as nails, screws, or suction cups.
Strings of electrical lights for decorating a house, shrubbery, or other structures, particularly at various holidays throughout the year, are well known in the art. Strings of electrical lights are typically attached to a house or other structure by various means that have several drawbacks. Affixing strings of light by stapling the wire between sockets holding light bulbs onto a surface results in damage created by staples on the surface of the structure. The staples can also cause damage to the insulation around the electrical wire and thus cause electrical malfunction or even create a fire or electrocution hazards. These are also the drawbacks of attaching the strings of electrical lights to a house with nails or screws.
There are provided in the prior art various devices for holding the sockets of strings of electrical lights. Typically these devices have a holding portion for gripping a decorative light socket and a hook, clip or other structure for mounting the holder on a structure or surface. Decorative light strings are available in three sizes C9, C7, and mini. In some prior art devices the holding portion will hold only one of the three sizes. Other holders such as the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,174, can hold all three sizes.
There are many other devices for attaching strings of electrical lights onto a house or other surfaces that hold the cord. A device for attaching Christmas lights adjacent roofing shingles is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. Des. 331,360. This device has a small stake which fits between the shingles and a single spiral at one end. The spiral end is sized to hold the wire of the Christmas light string, not a bulb or socket.
Similar devices comprised of a stake or straight pin with a curved holder attached at one end have been used to retain other structures or products. Mahin in U.S. Pat. No. 441,429 discloses such a structure for use as a hanger for mounting gutters. Borstein in U.S. Pat. No. 301,083 and Fenton in U.S. Pat. No. 1,625,303 disclose pins for holding price cards or securing upholstered parts of automobiles. A skewer having this basic shape is taught by Fricano in U.S. Pat. No. 2,578,182. None of these devices are suitable for holding decorative light strings.
Most of the devices found in the prior art are strictly functional and grip the light bulb sockets not the electrical cord between bulbs. Egle in U.S. Pat. No. 2,486,636 describes a plastic decorative light bulb socket with smooth reflective surfaces in the shape of a star. Tuttle in U.S. Pat. No. 2,465,700 describes an ornamental fixture decorative light having interchangeable decorative shapes mountable over a light bulb socket. The Tuttle decorative light socket can be slidably attached to an electrical connection which in turn can be mounted on a Christmas tree by a clip.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 406,788 discloses a decorative light holder that is in the shape of a reindeer. However, this disclosure differs from the present invention in several important respects. Most notably the means for holding the decorative light strings in the ""788 patent is a clip that receives for attaching the socket of a decorative light. Another important difference is that the holding position of the electrical light string is on only one side of each decorative light holder, so that the clip holds the socket adjacent to one surface of the decorative light holder, which limits the versatility of an individual holder.
There is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,123,969 issued to R. W. Wiley an illuminated sign having multiple reflective surfaces and lens-like surfaces to enhance the scattering of light, thus increasing the luminescence of the sign in the form of letters or numbers. The disclosure refers to the reflective surfaces as prismatic surfaces which may be of regular or irregular shapes but form several different reflective planes for scattering light. One important feature of this sign is that the reflective surfaces work in combination with lens-like surfaces in one direction only as they are primarily directed to work with artificial lighting from behind the signs.
Other products having reflective surfaces are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,067,701, 2,167,149, and 2,330,194 issued to C. A. James, W. F. Grote, and H. H. Blau respectively. The James reference discloses a pressed glass reflecting device for use in roadway signs. The reflection of light is effected by a pressed glass whose front surface is cylindrical while its back surface is composed of a plurality of curved right angle grooves. The front surface focuses incident light in a line along the grooves. The light then is reflected back through the front surface toward the light source. Thus, reflection of light is effected in a single direction. The Grote reference discloses a reflecting prism sheet composed of a colored or colorless transparent resin sheet having a plurality of xe2x80x9ccube cornersxe2x80x9d or prisms providing light reflective surfaces and a back portion which may be of a light reflecting material like a colored foil. Light comes through the front of the device and is reflected by the prisms and the back of the device back through the front in substantially the same plane as the entering light. The Blau reference discloses a reflecting optical system for reflecting signals that can be produced at a reduced cost. The device can reflect light in more than one plane by having reflective surfaces that reflect all the light passing through a light transmissive portion back through the origin of the light source. Because of the configuration of this device, the light transmissive and reflecting areas are mutually exclusive so that the appearance of the two planes of reflected light are limited to that of reflective surfaces on each plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,671,101 issued to D. M. Finch discloses a light control surface having a light transmitting component and a light reflective component having a plurality of geometric surfaces, preferably hexagonal pyramids. The geometric reflective surfaces can also be right regular rectangular or triangular pyramids or right regular cones. However, this light control surface reflects light in only one direction.
Road signs having retroreflective properties in only one direction are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,327 issued to Woltman in 1991, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,492 issued to D. Nishio in 1994. The Woltman patent discloses a road sign incorporating a retroreflective translucent layer and a light retroreflective layer configured such that light is primarily retroreflected in one direction only. The Nishio patent discloses a road sign having reflective surfaces reflecting light to a viewer also on only one side of the sign under direct or back lighting conditions, as in a motorway or highway. The retroreflective sheets disclosed have a characteristic pyramidal shape effecting the reflection and scattering of light to a viewer. Again, the Nishio reference discloses reflective surfaces on only one side so that light is reflected or scattered in only one primary direction, to a driver on a road. The disclosure of the Nishio patent is for a purely functional device having no decorative functions.
Thus, there is a need for a versatile decorative reflective light holder that allows for flexible spacing of the holders along a string of decorative electrical lights without the constraint of the socket positioning and which also provides a decorative function when the lights are not in use by providing a decorative shape incorporating a variety of reflective surfaces. In addition, the decorative reflective holder should be capable of being attached to a variety of surfaces through the use of stakes on the ground, a nail or screw, or a suction cup.
A decorative light holder has a decorative shape, is made of a translucent material and has at least three substantially parallel reflective surfaces. A portion of light striking each surface is reflected and another portion of that light passes through the light holder. This structure provides a pleasing appearance in which areas of one side of the light holder appear to be darker than other areas of the same side. The corresponding areas on the opposite side of the light holder also appear to be lighter and darker but the area that was lighter on one side is darker on the opposite side and the area that was darker on one side is lighter on the opposite side. Preferably the surfaces on at least one side are textured, such as with a prismatic structure.
The decorative light holder has a support on one side that is sized to receive a cord of a string of decorative lights. Consequently, the light bulbs on the string normally hang below the light holder. It is possible to support the cord immediately adjacent a light socket on the string to position the light bulb behind or adjacent a surface of the light holder.
The decorative light holder preferably has a socket that enables the light holder to be mounted on a stake. I further prefer to provide a slotted ring spaced apart from the socket that grips the stake to which the reflective decorative light holder is attached. A key hole opening for inserting the head of a nail or screw or the stem of a suction cup could also be provided in place of or in addition to the stake mounting.
The decorative light holder can be molded as either one piece or multiple pieces of an injection moldable plastic. When made of multiple pieces one piece can be snap fitted onto the other piece. Each piece may be of a different color to add to the decorative effect. The overall effect is to cause portion of light striking a surface to be reflected while another portion passes through the holder giving the decorative light holder a unique, pleasing appearance.
Additional details, objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent as the following description of certain present preferred embodiments thereof proceed.